Birmingham rated worst city for food hygiene

Birmingham tops list of worst UK cities for food hygiene as it has the highest proportion of one and two-star hygiene-rated establishments

The city was found to have the worst hygiene rating with 11 percent of its restaurants and takeaways scoring only one or two stars under the Food Standards Agency's (FSA) hygiene rating system.

Under the system, any restaurant scoring one star requires major improvement and was found to have several food hygiene breaches as well as a lack of staff training. Those establishments that score two stars aren't much better as they still require improvements and there is some concern around food handling practices.

The second worst ranked city was Southend-on-Sea which had seven percent of its eateries scoring only one or two stars. It was then followed by the City of Westminster, Dudley, Islington, Liverpool, and Manchester at 6 percent. 

The top ten is finished with Croydon, Newport, and Mansfield all at 5 percent of businesses scoring only one or two stars according to data taken from Direct365, a facilities management company.

At the other end of the spectrum, Ipswitch was rated the most hygienic place with 100 percent of its eateries scoring either four of five stars on the hygiene rating system. It was followed closely by Southampton, Crawley, and Swindon which each scored 99 percent. 

Also in the top ten were Nottingham, Milton Keynes, Belfast, Leeds, Coventry, and Preston, at 98 percent. 

As reported by Echo-News, Karl Bantleman, head of digital at Direct365, said "If you're fortunate enough to be in one of the highest-ranking towns for excellent food hygiene, be aware that standards are much higher than average. You can't be competitive without your own four- or five-star rating."

“There are a few simple things food establishments can do to improve their rating, including storing food properly, good record keeping, using the right cleaning products, and managing waste properly.”